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Sunday, 27 January 2013

Hello there! What a busy busy week. Whilst the snow was falling outside we were frantically sewing, pap maching & glittering in preparation for the wonderful event at the V&A with Videopia. It was the Friday Late which was a glorious event full of movie magic.

I was tasked with making the costumes for Wizard of Oz & Rob was making the props & backdrops. My lovely friend Iona bought her sewing machine round & we had quite a little production line going. As always things got a little messy & hectic, but it all pulled together at the last minute & we packed up the van & headed to London.

The video will be uploaded very soon to the Videopia Youtube channel. I'll also have some pics of my costumes in action! I'm up in London this week & we've already been to see some lovely exhibitions & hopefully planning a trip to Hampton Court, I haven't been since I was a littlen.

Wednesday, 23 January 2013

Thursday, 17 January 2013

I have given in & finally bought some little organisation things. It may sound silly but having somewhere to keep your threads & bobbins makes a big difference rather than scrabbling around for things. I am naturally a very disorganised person so I often find myself searching through pockets & bags & on the floor for something & then I find what I was looking for in the draw named 'Needles' (for example). I just never suspect that I would have actually put something back in it's right place, but I am trying to change my habits & need to get used to being more organised than I think I am. I've just bought a whole load more of the organic cotton threads, I think little things like that make a difference when trying to be a bit more environmental. Also, I want to line them all up on my new spool holder & I like the way the wooden spools look.

I got these hyacinths the other day & they have opened up a treat. They smell beautiful like spring.

Thank you so much for all the feedback on the Liberty prints! I have chosen two - I couldn't just choose 1 in the end - & I've already started to make up a dress in one, which I will be sharing very soon. I hope everyone has been having a lovely week. Apparently it is going to snow here tonight. I hope so.

Monday, 14 January 2013

Yes... more pictures of floral fabrics... For my Spring Summer collection I am planning on using some Liberty fabrics. They are soft & beautiful Tana Lawn cottons which are so perfect for a summer outfit. I have received a few samples & I simply can't decide which one to choose! My main colour pallet is greys, dusty pink, pale blue & green, & yellow (as you can see I'm indecisive). The subtly of these colours are perfect. I also really want something that encapsulates the Art Deco vibe I'm going for, as all the shapes won't be 20s but everything will feel like a natural collection. I really love all of these! However, I think I am leaning towards number 1 or number 5 for this collection as I love the shapes, as they are noticeably Liberty but without being too floral... does that makes sense?

After seeing these beautiful photos I became a bit obsessed with ideas for backdrops for upcoming product shoots. I'm not a massive fan of totally white infinity backdrops, but I also wouldn't want anything that distracted too much from the clothing. It was sunny today, so I took advantage of the natural light & I had a play around with some lovely vintage fabric I got from an antique shop on Friday. I love the idea of making a dress & backdrop match like this just for the fun of it.

I hope everyone's been having a lovely weekend. We spent Friday night drinking, eating, & chatting with old friends til the early hours of the morning, & yesterday I had a full PJ day which are always nice. Today I have been sewing & this evening we went to see Les Miserables, has anyone else seen it? I really thought it wouldn't be my bag, but I loooooved it & sobbed the whole way through. Oh dear, how is it almost 3am! I must to bed, I don't like Mondays...

Tuesday, 8 January 2013

Hello friends! Well, my mind is buzzing with all the plans for my Spring Summer collection. It's been in the pipe line (my head) for a few months now, but it is now the time to knuckle down, finalise ideas, source fabric, make samples & plan photo shoots. Oh gosh, not enough hours in the day! I decided after a lot of computer based mood boards & lists & emails that it was time to get my head away from the screen & look at things from a distance. I printed out a bunch of pictures I'd been collecting & stuck them up in my studio. Something about the physical act of cutting out the images & sticking them on my wall was very therapeutic. It helped me un-jumble ideas & unlock certain aspects of designs I've been pondering.

I have a few dresses that I am absolutely certain on - but you never know until you start playing around with materials & designing the pattern if they will end up how you thought in your mind. Also, I've been having real difficulty this season with fabrics: sourcing the ones I want, getting something that will match my design & theme, still using ethical materials, golly what a headache! You need to account for any number of things not going to plan when creating a collection, & as always I don't seem to have been the best at the whole time management thing. Oh well, life without a bit of stress would be boring... right?

What is your favourite thing to wear during the summer months? I will be showing you a few of my initial designs soon for some feedback, it's so important to create garments that are wearable as well as interesting.

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

Happy New Year one & all! I was planning on doing a little new year post yesterday with thoughts of the year gone by & plans for the future, but what was meant to be a quiet new year at home ended up being a dancing til your knees hurt, drinking sloe gin from the bottle sort of night, so yesterday involved a lot of sleeping & watching Princess & The Frog (which is actually really good).

Today I am finishing off some sewing & tomorrow morning we are off to Paris! This Christmas has been absolutely amazing, so much fun playing games & drinking & eating with family & seeing old friends too who are back for the holidays. I found it very strange taking an 'official' holiday as it is hard to shake the feeling of guilt when you work from home it just feels funny not having to feel guilty about not doing work. Does anyone else have this problem? I am looking forward to some time away from home to gather inspiration for the year ahead & make some concrete plans about what needs to be done, changed & what lessons I have learned in my first year of business.

Without getting to gushy (which is hard at this time of year as everyone seems to be all gooey) but I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me in the last year whilst starting up my little business, that means thank you! I can't quite believe that people read this blog or wear dresses that I have designed & made, it's a little hard to come to terms with but it means the world to me.

I hope you all have had a magnificent holidays & are looking forward to 2013, may it be filled with happiness & laughter & silliness (& hard work) & all the things that make life good.